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Jumpin' Jeeps: Jeep Design and Mopar roll out new treats in Moab

March 31, 2010

The Nukizer is a modern take on the Vietnam-era military Jeep known as the Kaiser M-715. Photo by Chrysler

Jeep and Dodge treat the annual Easter Jeep Safari in Moab, Utah, the same way Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Porsche approach the Frankfurt motor show--it is a serious event deserving of its own concepts and visits by top executives. The fact that Moab, perhaps less so than Frankfurt, is also a ton of fun is purely coincidental.

So every year, Jeep and sometimes Dodge roll out concepts in Moab to gauge customer interest and to thrill the faithful. This year there were several trailers full of wild Jeeps, and at least one Dodge, and Chrysler let us drive a few of them in their natural habitat.

We counted seven in all, built by an amalgamation of Jeep Design, Jeep Engineering, the Mopar parts department, Mopar Underground and a loosely knit but totally committed confederation within the company known as the Lunatic Fringe. We are not making that last one up.

They hauled all of the concepts to some sand dunes south of Moab and let us drive as many as we could before they broke or before the local sandstorm blew away the last free sandwich in the compound.

The first one we drove was called the Nukizer, a modern take on the Vietnam-era military Jeep known as the Kaiser M-715. The Nukizer is based on an Egyptian Military J8 stretched eight inches and converted to a pickup. Why? Why not? It was terrific fun to drive. Given one of these, Lawrence of Arabia could have dispensed with diplomacy entirely. Its 2.8-liter diesel four lacked the horsepower of a great prerunner but made up for it in durable torque. Dynatrac Pro-Rock Dana 44 front and Dana 60 rear axles with ARB Airlocker differentials made it ready for rock crawling but also made it fun on the sand dunes over which we flew.

“We're not talking production intent,” said Mark Allen, head of Jeep Design. “It's just, the world's a better place because we built this thing.”

Who could argue?

The Power Ram Wagon apparently ate too much sand before we could get seat time. Photo by Mark Vaughn

Next was the Wrangler Trail Boss. Originally, this particular Jeep was just the stock Rubicon of Jeep president and CEO Mike Manley, until Manley saw it parked next to a modified Wrangler.

“He said, ‘Hey, how come his Jeep's bigger than mine?'” recalled Allen. “So we threw the Mopar catalog at it.”

Now, presumably, Manley--who had to leave Moab days earlier to attend some car show in New York--is happy. We were, too.

Then we went the other direction, driving the Jeep Patriot Extreme, a vehicle of which the Jeep cognoscenti appeared to be less than enthusiastic.

“We brought the Jeep Lower Forty last year,” said Allen, referring to the ultracool chopped and channeled Wrangler shown both here and then at SEMA. “This year, it's the Lower Expectations.”

Ouch.

The Mitsubishi Galant-platformed Patriot is perhaps the least-capable Jeep product ever made, even equipped as this one was with the Trail-Rated off-road package, two-inch Rocky Road Outfitters suspension lift, TJ “Moab” 16-inch wheels, BF Goodrich KM2 tires and custom rock rails. None of that helped its on-road platform, 165-hp, 172-lb-ft four and soul-sapping CVT2 transmission. Still, it was fully enclosed and so it kept out the blowing sand and biting cold, so we liked it for that.

“We brought it here because we need to know more about it so we can make the next one better,” said Allen.

The next driver, the mighty Ram PowerWagon concept, needed no improvements. As a teen, Allen loved to watch Simon and Simon, a detective show that featured a Dodge Ram as its star--at least it was the star from Allen's point of view.

To make this one, the team started with a Dodge Ram and cut out the middle, right behind the cab. Then they added a light-duty inner box and a dually outer box on the back with a four-inch lift and massive 40-inch tires all around. From behind the wheel, the stock 5.7-liter Hemi suddenly felt even stronger than its 383 hp and 400 lb-ft. Naturally we had to do multiple donuts in the sand to be sure. At first it did this merely adequately, then Allen suggested we shift into 2WD, “to throw more sand.” That was quite thrilling, and we decided then and there that Allen should be president.

We hoped to drive next the massively fast Ram Runner, an aftermarket kit that may be available this summer. It's designed to offer Dodge Ram 1500 owners a chance to keep up with the Ford Raptor. It uses 3-inch-diameter Fox shocks with external reservoirs, billet aluminum upper A-arms, chromoly steel lower arms, variable-rate coil springs and reshaped fiberglass fenders to allow 14 inches of wheel travel. The price for all that and some more might be between $12,000 and $14,000 when the package comes out. That was what we wanted to drive next, but the engine apparently ate too much sand and died.

Yes, this is really called the Jeep imMortal. You can see why. Photo by Mark Vaughn

Then we set our sights on the Jeep imMortal, with the big M shaped like the one in Mopar. It was, according to at least one Mopar official, “the baddest-ass rig we could think of.” To qualify for such a rating required that the Wrangler-based ass rig have massive portal axles (which may soon be available in the Mopar catalog), a 5.7-liter Hemi and an unstoppable 100:1 crawl ratio. But alas, the imMortal was mortal after all, and one of our media colleagues--while “romping it”--broke a rear shock and the rig was parked, ass and all.

We saw but did not drive the Wrangler J7, a stripper version of the four-door, with no fog lamps, alloy wheels or stereo and with carpet replaced by Rhino Lining.

“There's an appeal for a Wrangler in the most base model you can get,” said Allen, to cheers from the Wrangler faithful on hand.

And there were plenty of faithful in Moab.

If you need any further evidence that it's important to make cars and trucks about which people get passionate, look no further than Moab during Easter break. Imagine how quickly Chrysler's troubles would be solved if it instilled in all of its products the same things that appeal so strongly to Jeep owners. Imagine if it made a compact, front-engine, rear-drive coupe with a useable trunk and a useable back seat that happened to be perfectly balanced and sold for a reasonable price. Say, a Giulietta, perhaps?

Hey, we can dream.

Mark Vaughn
- After slumming in Europe five years covering F1 etc. Mark Vaughn interviewed with Autoweek at the 1989 Frankfurt motor show has been with us ever since because no one else will take him. Anyone?
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